…Is good news for someone looking to start a great career in our advanced manufacturing companies.

Openings for skilled workers as older workers retire are seen as the biggest challenge facing manufacturers in this economic policy report from Connexus Indiana and CBER Muncie. This is great news if you or someone you know are looking for a great career.

“The most significant challenge facing Indiana’s manufacturing firms is the very high percentage of workers nearing retirement age (more than one in six workers over the next 10 years).”-CBER Manufacturing and Labor Market Frictions, Connexus Indiana, CBER Muncie Indiana.

“Since 1998, the share of manufacturing workers aged 55 to 64 has grown from 9.8 percent to 16.8 percent, which is a 71 percent increase in share in less than a generation’s time. This rapid growth is due to the movement of the baby boom generation into near-retirement and retirement years.

Although this transition is occurring across the economy, it is larger and growing more rapidly in manufacturing.”

The need for skilled workers to replace older workers

By 2024, employee turnover in manufacturing in Indiana could grow to one in four workers per year if current demographic conditions persist.

This demographic shift will place significant burdens on the firms to locate and train workers to fill this potential employment gap in manufacturing.

While this Connexus Report speaks to Indiana data, it is a problem facing all North American Manufacturing Shops.

And an opportunity for anyone looking to get in to a great career in advanced manufacturing.